Madagascar: Discover a Lost World - Private Tour

The order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions or for operational purposes. The schedules of the domestic airlines in country are subject to frequent changes. For this reason, we have indicated approximate times only. Your local guide will inform you of any schedule changes as they are informed of them. The driving times listed are point to point and do not include the duration of excursions or stops en route. Some road construction and/or weather conditions may lengthen the driving times. Our intention is to adhere to the day-to-day itinerary as printed; however, order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions.

If booking more than 12 weeks before departure a deposit of £295.00pp will need to be paid at the time of booking with the full amount payable at 12 weeks prior to departure. The deposit applies to adults and children. If you are within 12 weeks of travel then the full balance of the holiday will be payable.

For your trip to Madagascar, a visa is required for the purpose of your stay. In many cases, visas can be obtained either in advance or on arrival, but entry requirements and procedures are subject to change.

Your passport should be valid for at least six months beyond your planned departure date from Madagascar and must have sufficient blank pages for entry stamps.

We strongly recommend checking the latest visa, entry, and passport requirements directly with the official government sources, https://www.mdg-london.org/, or https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/madagascar/entry-requirements.

We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party are suitably insured as soon as you book your holiday. It is a condition of booking that you must have suitable travel insurance. It is important that you purchase travel insurance that suitably covers your participation in whatever activities you may undertake at the time that you make your booking. To assist you with this, we have arranged travel insurance in partnership with Holiday Extras, including up to a 20% discount, which is given to all Mercury Holidays customers. To arrange your insurance with Holiday Extras, please visit https://www.mercuryholidays.co.uk/info/insurance for more details. Please ensure you provide us with the name of your insurer, policy number and their 24 hour emergency contact number as soon as possible. Mercury Holidays will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to your failure to take out suitable travel insurance from the date of booking.

It is your responsibility to check any health and vaccination requirements applicable to your booked arrangements. We can only provide general information about this. Health and hygiene facilities and disease risks vary from country to country. You should take health advice about your own needs as early as possible and in good time before your departure. Sources of information include; www.fco.gov.uk, www.travelhealthpro.org.uk, www.hpa.org.uk, your General Practitioner, or a specialist clinic.

No vaccination is required to enter Madagascar. However, it is recommended that you keep up to date with the usual vaccinations: yellow fever, DT Polio, hepatitis A (and B), and typhoid. Malaria: It is strongly recommended to take a preventive treatment. In any case, the best prevention remains protection against bites: use long and loose clothing at the end of the day, apply repellent, and sleep under a mosquito net.

IMPORTANT: Your daily medication must remain in your possession, within easy reach, especially on the plane. Do not put your daily medication in your hold luggage, have them with you in the cabin in case your luggage is lost or delayed.

Digestive disorders are the most common health problems encountered. They are most often caused by changes in diet and, in the bush, by the poor quality of running water. To avoid them, eat well-cooked food, wash and peel fruit and vegetables well, and use bottled water with a cap, possibly even for brushing your teeth. Medical facilities are of fairly good quality in the main cities. You will find well-stocked pharmacies, as well as doctors and hospitals. Outside the cities, medical facilities are basic.

We have a first-aid pharmacy in the vehicles, but it is essential that you have your own travel pharmacy with the medicines you consider useful.

This tour is accessible to most people with a good level of fitness and normal mobility. It involves climbing of steep stairs and getting on and off coaches. This tour is not suitable for anyone with walking difficulties. All our tours feature a 'Tour Pace' to help find the right holiday for you. To travel on any of our tours requires unaided mobility and the ability to stroll around the sights, climb stairs and get on and off coaches and boats. The tour pace for Madagascar: Discover a Lost World is Active. A higher level of fitness as required as you may be on your feet for most of the day though this will be interspersed with regular breaks and vary from day to day. You will be walking around the sights, getting on and off coaches, trains and boats and climbing steps which may be irregular. There may be some time spend at high altitude. You will stay in variety of hotels, possibly including overnight trains, and accommodation standards may not match those you are used to at home. Our guides will always endeavour to provide the highest level of service and assistance; however, they cannot be expected to cater for customers who are unfit to complete the itinerary.

The currency in Madagascar is the Ariary. We recommend that you exchange your currency (Euros, Dollars) upon your arrival at the airport. Approved exchange offices are at your disposal. Cash machines will also be available in medium and large towns. Do be aware that it is illegal to exchange money at the markets. Credit Cards are not widely accepted in Madagascar.

As normal practice you may be asked for your credit card details on check-in at the hotel in order to cover any extras incurred during your stay. If you do not have a credit card, you may be asked for a cash deposit. MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in hotels as well as American Express.

You will need to take money with you to cover any personal purchases such as souvenirs, laundry, any meals not included in the itinerary as well as drinks and any additional snacks. Approximately £300 per person will be sufficient for the duration of the tour. It is a good idea to try and maintain a supply of small notes and change in the local currency for tipping or small purchases. Tipping is approx. €40 per person and your guide will collect it at the start for your convenience to be distributed amongst restaurant staff, porters, local guides etc... as the trip progresses. Tips can be paid in Euros or the local currency.

This is a fully escorted tour meaning that you will be met and accompanied by a local guide. He will be available to the group during all scheduled sightseeing. Other native guides will also be available to facilitate the visit of national parks and reserves.

Private Tour: If you have booked a private tour then you will be accompanied by a Driver Guide or a Driver and Local Guides. These will be available to you during all scheduled sightseeing. Private Tours can depart on any day of the week depending on flight and train schedules and the opening days of the attractions. They will follow the itinerary as described in the brochure unless you have been advised otherwise and you will still have all of the same meals, sightseeing and local excursions included.

Your accommodation is selected for convenience, location, comfort or character, and can range from business hotels to leisure hotels. Hotel accommodation is generally rated as local three to four-star standard, but please note there is no international classification system for hotels, and differences in facilities and quality do exist compared to what you might expect in the UK. All group tours hotels have private bathroom facilities, where needed. Rest assured that all accommodation used by Mercury Holidays is regularly inspected by our staff and partners to ensure that standards meet your needs.

Breakfast is always western style and served in the hotel each morning. Dinner during your tour (when included) will be taken in local restaurants or at the hotel. A variety of restaurants are visited giving you the chance to experience a range of dishes and flavours.

On your arrival in Antananarivo you will be met by a representative from our local agent, Sense of Oceans, holding a sign displaying: “Mercury Holidays”. The Mercury Holidays/Sense of Oceans representative will show you to your transfer vehicle. Your national guide will be on hand 24 hours a day should you have any queries.

If you need to contact your representative during your stay the details are:

Sense of Oceans: Telephone Number 00261 38 49 356 04 E-mail danielle@senseofoceans.com

Emergency contact information: Please find below the emergency contact details for Sense of Oceans Contact in Antananarivo Telephone Number 24 hr: 00261 34 49 356 08 E-mail: madagascar@senseofoceans.com

• Sunglasses, sunscreen and hat in summer or cap
• Comfortable walking shoes and sandals
• Camera and charger
• A plug adaptor - the voltage in Madagascar is 220 V
• Binoculars
• Mosquito repellent. During your visit to the national parks, you may only be able to interact with animals if you have all natural insect repellent.
• Antibacterial hand gel
• Personal first aid kit containing travel pills, rehydration powder, plasters, stomach settlers, antiseptic creams, aspirin etc
• Small day pack for excursions
• Rain cape
• Headlamp and spare batteries
• T-shirts and cotton shirts
• Shorts and canvas trousers
• Sweater and mid-season jacket
• Swimsuit